The Murdering of Bears

There have been at least two occurrences here in Colorado of bears being murdered for acting the way bears are supposed to act.  I get why the bears are put down when they are aggressive and are a danger to people.  When bears are put down for acting the way bears are supposed to act, I have an issue with that.  It’s a no-win situation for a bear.  They are put down for not behaving like a bear and they are put down for behaving like a bear.

In one situation a door was left open, it was hot, and the bear got into the house.  The original story I read said the person heard noises coming from downstairs and went to check it out.  He startled the bear, the bear swiped at him and left. 

Another version I heard was that the person got the bear into the garage, opened the garage door to let it out which scared the bear. The bear ran back into the only open door that was away from the one that scared him swiping the person in the process and ran out another door.  They hunted down the bear and murdered it.  How do they even know that was the right bear?!?!  The bear was afraid and reacted like a bear should, protecting itself from something it didn’t understand.  It didn’t open the door itself nor did it go aggressively hunting for a human. Bears are curious by nature.  It did what a bear was behaviorally supposed to do.

In another instance a woman was walking home from work late at night.  There was a sow with two cubs.  The sow saw her as a threat and knocked her down.  She also knocked another girl down.  Then went away with her two cubs.  The women weren’t hurt.  Division of Wildlife hunted down the sow and murdered her.  They didn’t say what happened to the two cubs.  The bear was protecting her cubs.  She didn’t maul the two women nor did she aggressively go after the women.  She did what a bear was behaviorally supposed to do.  The adage “mama bear” became an adage for a reason.  

What are bears supposed to do in order not to be murdered?  We live in their habitats and expect to have no encounters with them?  In a lot of the instances when bears become a problem it’s our fault.  We feed them.  We may not actively go out and feed a bear, but we feed them nonetheless.  We feed them with our hummingbird feeders.  We feed them with our dog food that’s left out.  We feed them with our un-secure non-bear proof trash cans. We feed them in many, many ways that we don’t take the blame for.  Yet, they are murdered for our ignorance, stupidity, and laziness.

Maybe we should fine people for doing stupid things that attract the bears in the first place.  I’m sure if people were fined enough when they leave trash out, they’d stop leaving trash out.  We could focus on the real problem, people, and then maybe the bears have a chance to be bears. 

Bears are curious, lazy and hungry.  They, like many humans, will take the easy way to find the things they need. If a door is left open or a bird feeder is available, they will have a look and try to get food.  If a mother bear is out with her babies, she will protect them from perceived harm. 

As I’ve said, I understand when they become aggressive and dangerous, but I don’t understand when they are murdered for behaving like a bear or when they are murdered because we humans are just plain stupid.